LED Lighting Project Update

[northerncat]

just going cold cathodes will reduce that to about 10 amps for more light and no worries with lights running on dc
sean

[Silverado6x6]

Marine Lighting - IMTRA Marine Products


I saw this companys ad in a yachting magazine yesterday.

This is a 3 watt Cree emitter MR16 replacement lamp, superior to a Luxeon.
IMTRA Marine Products

[schoonerdog]

This is from a british company, they run on 8v-30v DC, and they are meant to replace 20W halogens. Your power consumption would drop from 41 amps to 2.5 amps. G4 DC 6 Led Warm White Led Bulb 8v-30v DC. I have them on my boat and they are incredibly bright.

Originally Posted by adrian pye

The LED lamps sold in the UK are designed to run on A/C, a step down transformer 240v to 12v but not rectified. What happens when these LED lamps are subjected to 12v dc? If I remember rightly from my electrical training 12vdc is what it says, whereas 12vac is 12 x 0.707 (its root mean value)= 8.48v average.
I curently (pardon the pun) have 25 of 20w halogens using 41.6Amps as lighting on my passenger vessel and am looking into an alternative. does using D/C reduce the life of the LEDs or not?
Ade

[northerncat]

i have one of the cree bulbs above bloddy expensive and it gets hot, throws out more light than a luxeon though not as much as the cold cathodes
sean

[hooked on water]

Dear Wheels
I am buying ready built lights, so that is good to know
I have bought everything to fit the whole boat inside adn out with leds
I will let you all know how it goes
the fitout is progressing well at the moment
most bulkheads and frames are in, with floor and bunks being fitted in this weekend
then trim to be fitted, and electrical is starting for cable runs
even bought led flood lights

[Alan Wheeler]

Although the type of LED used is important, It is the Regulator business that usually makes the LED cluster really good. It is also what makes the things expensive as well.

[adrian pye]

Thanks all, now I know its out there all I need to do is choose. pricey things though.
Ade

[bstreep]

Someone earlier was looking for these LED drivers in Australia:

Cutter Electronics

Just google "buckpuck" and your country.

These things are pretty much REQUIRED for high intensity LED lighting, and remove the requirement for power wasting resistors. They ARE, however, as Wheels pointed out above, a very significant amount of the $$ for the parts. As you put more LEDs into a unit, obviously, the price goes down.

These HAVE to be mounted within 4' or a meter or so of the LEDs - so the prospect of using one to power many LEDs doesn't work.

[schoonerdog]

I guess it becomes relative, the bulbs I've got through out a ton of light and at around $12 to $19 certainly not a big deal of cost if you do them over a period of time. Considering that the weak west marine cluster bulbs were selling for 2 to 3 times the price 6 years ago and barely had the output of a weak night light, I'm very happy with price/performance.

[hooked on water]

b streep

thanks for that info, will look into fitting one
am investing alot of dollars in the boat and alot just in the leds, so I think it should be worth it
thanks for your help
cheers
hooked

[hooked on water]

hey b streep
thanks for the info
have just received all my lights now, and they are bright
my boat will be well lit
also looking at maybe setting them up in the house, could be some good savings here
have looked up the buck puck and will be getting a few for each circuit to be safe
they are not the dear either , a worthy investment
hooked

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by schoonerdog

This is from a british company, they run on 8v-30v DC, and they are meant to replace 20W halogens. Your power consumption would drop from 41 amps to 2.5 amps. G4 DC 6 Led Warm White Led Bulb 8v-30v DC. I have them on my boat and they are incredibly bright.

A bit of a necro-post, but this is extremely interesting. These units appear to be identical to ones sold for more than double the cost in the U.S. Are they electronically regulated (not capacitors)? Are you still happy with them? I'm tempted to order a couple dozen of them and re-lamp my entire boat.

And do you find the light produced by these to be pleasing? I put in one cool color-temperature LED puck in one of my fixtures, in the galley, and the light is unpleasantly artificial and cold. Ambience in the boat is not unimportant.

I am deeply unhappy with the power consumption on my boat (even though I have a very quiet running generator) and am trying to fight with it a little. Lighting seems to be the biggest power consumption line item, with a few dozen 20 watt G4 fixtures sucking the very life out of my battery bank.